The present invention relates to the field of games, card games, wagering card games, and specifically poker-type casino wagering games.
Poker style games are well known and have been popular for years. Poker has a low barrier to entry—a deck of playing cards, a few participants, and a playing surface. In most poker games, players generally wager based on a predetermined set of poker game rules, for example that they will have the highest poker hand ranking at the end of the game. Players are typically dealt a hand of poker cards during the game from a randomized standard poker deck of playing cards. Depending on the specific flavor of poker, the betting and play structure can vary. For example, the timing and amount of wagers can vary; the timing of when cards are dealt and where they are dealt can also vary, to name a few ways in which poker games can vary. One popular poker game that many people know how to play is Five Card Poker. Five Card Poker uses the same basic ranking of winning poker hands as most poker games: royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair and high card(s) in hand.
Most casino poker games are spread in a poker room where the casino provides a dealer, playing cards, table and chairs, but the casino does not play a hand. Instead, the casino collects a percentage of the pot, referred to as the rake. Alternatively, some casinos charge an hourly fee, referred to as a seat charge. Although this style of poker environment has been successful for casinos, casinos would like the ability to spread a poker game in the casino pit where the dealer plays in the game. For a variety of reasons, casino table game variants have not been successful in adapting the rules of poker into a casino table game. Perhaps most notably, known casino table poker games are played heads-up, player versus dealer. Although this style of play has been somewhat successful, it ultimately fails to bring a meaningful poker experience to the casino pit.